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Josh's Rusty Rail Rebuild
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JRuger
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Location: Pennsylvania
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:22 pm    Post subject: Josh's Rusty Rail Rebuild Reply with quote

Here we go, this will be my build thread. This is my first post here so buckle up. I bought the (rusty) rail about 4 and a half months ago and have been slowly progressing on restoring and pretty much rebuilding this from the ground up (at one point just the frame was laying on some 4x6 skids on the ground). I bought the rail off a man in Maryland about 3 and a half hours away. When I finally arrived to pick it up the guy was waiting there with his Kubota tractor that he was using to push this thing around with. I backed up my trailer to the rail and he pushed it up on after we the set the ramps in place. It was a tight squeeze getting it on because the front wheel base was about 60 in and the trailer was also 60 in, but we made fit and strapped it down, along with the extra trsnsaxle that came with it. The ride home was uneventful everything stayed put on the trailer. I think this is enough for my first post and will try upload some pictures ( still getting used to this website). I'll start off the next post with the condition of the rail when it arrived home ( it wasnt pretty Neutral )

Last edited by JRuger on Mon Jan 21, 2019 11:47 am; edited 1 time in total
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:50 pm    Post subject: Initial Conditions Reply with quote

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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:10 am    Post subject: Initial Conditions Reply with quote

When I arrived home I took a damage assessment. The whole frame needs cleaned and painted, the front beam needs sandblasted and painted, likely a new engine ( the 1200 that came with it had a whole in the bottom of the case from sitting in a field for years), new floor, seats and much more, I didn't want to get to far ahead of myself. Some of the frame near the torsion housing would need repaired ( and ultimately replaced ). I decided to try to use the torsion system with the swingaxle that came with the rail. The transaxle would not go into gear because the shift lever was rusted to the bushing and the engine was froze up.
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aaronr25
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:46 am    Post subject: Re: My Build Reply with quote

That thing has some huge tires in the rear. What size are they?
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:05 pm    Post subject: Re: My Build Reply with quote

aaronr25 wrote:
That thing has some huge tires in the rear. What size are they?


The rear tires that came with it were " 14/36.5- 15LT " (straight from the tire) there were nice and dry rotted along wjth the fronts.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:20 pm    Post subject: Rust removal Reply with quote

The first thing I wanted to do was clean the entire frame and get it primed so that the rust didnt get any worse than it already was. Here are two pictures of what the frame looked like with nice shiny metal. It looked like the frame started life as a short back sand rail but at some point had the rear frame extended to protect the engine. The guy I bought it off of said that the owner before him would drive this thing around his farm. He must have had a different floor in it at that point because where your legs go is completely open

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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:09 pm    Post subject: Less engine and pedals Reply with quote

So I pulled the 1200cc that came with the rail off and started disassmbly of the engine to see how bad it really was ( I already knew that it was unusable). There was no oil left in it, it all leaked out the hole in the bottom of the case. The magnesium case had become very soft and almost chalk like from sitting for so long. It must have been sitting up against a hill where the engine was contacting the ground for a while. When the heads finally came off water poured out from 2 of the cylinders. Oh and there was a mouse living in this engine at one point. There were thousands of little seed pods and a nice little nest inside one of the exhaust ports. When the engine came out the rear end got a whole lot lighter and the wheels became seriously angled ( gotta love swing axles ). Also the crappy pedals and box that came with the rail got cut off and what looks like a footrest made out a piece of 1/4 plate got cut off as well. The whole area got smoothed over and the whole rail got primed. The date of these pictures was September 16th, 2018.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:54 pm    Post subject: Front end paint and new rear torsion assembly Reply with quote

Sometime between the last pictures and this one there was a floor support welded in to help stiffen the frame ( will come in handy later ) And I decided to change out the entire rear torsion assembly from swing axles to independent rear suspension. Besides not liking the swingaxles the frame horns for the transmission had a bunch holes like someone tried to weld them but burned right through the thin metal. I found a local guy that was selling an entire pan ( just the tunnel and rear end and that point from the rot) off a 1973 Karmann Ghia. So I made a pretty good offer and he even cut the tunnel off that I didn't need. In the pictures below you will see what it look like when it arrived home and after I trimmed some of the fat off of it. I then sandblasted and primed it. Also that same week I got a little carried away with a paint gun and decided to do the whole front end of the rail. I decided not to do the rear because the swing axle assembly would be cut out and a whole different IRS assembly welded in. Also the front beam had been sent out to the Amish sandblasting shop to get done.
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Last edited by JRuger on Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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plotch
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 4:47 pm    Post subject: Re: My Build Reply with quote

Needs bigger back tires. Welcome to the mud hole, looks good so far.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:05 pm    Post subject: Re: My Build Reply with quote

plotch wrote:
Needs bigger back tires. Welcome to the mud hole, looks good so far.


You'll have to follow the progress of the rail up until the present day, it looks quite a bit different: ) [ its nowhere complete though ]
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:47 pm    Post subject: Cutting the rear end off Reply with quote

At this point the swingaxle assembly was cut off. I guess the driver side diagonal supports was damaged and was cut off right at the shock tower and bent down and welded again. Note the holes in the frame horns ( Yikes! ) You can see in previous pictures of the drivers side vertical support that's welded to the shock tower. And this is the point the frame is literally on the ground and will be built from here up.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:01 am    Post subject: Welding the new (uses) IRS system in Reply with quote

From the last picture to this one about a month has passed the last picture was taken. This was a super busy time for me with Fire classes I was taking. In that time the diagonal, vertical, and plates that were welded to the torsion housing and shock towers have been removed and the areas smoothed over. The steering shaft mount was also removed because it wasn't the correct size for the shaft. The front beam has been sandblasted and painted. And lastly the bottom frame rail was contoured to fit the new torsion housing.

With the frame being contoured to fit the housing the whole thing was substantially stronger that before- therefore it was decided to not weld reinforcing plates from the frame to the housing like the previous one was. That being said reinforcement was needed and there will be more pictures coming with what I decided to do.

And here we have the Ghia rear end being welded to the frame. Note the little preheating bottle and then the pallet(s) being used as windblockers. Gotta make do with what you have.

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Last edited by JRuger on Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:15 am; edited 1 time in total
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:10 pm    Post subject: On 4 wheels again Reply with quote

Its been about 2 months since the rail was rolling on all four wheels, in the following picture the diagonal supports have been welded in. Also the vertical supports were welded from the frame to the shock towers. The recently repainted front beam has been installed and I was seeing how the new shocks looked at the time. In addition a set of supports from the floors brace to the torsion housing were welded in ( not in picture). With all of these supports, the frame was nice and sturdy. The next task was getting the floor fitted up. I made a template in cardboard and a sheet with all the dimensions then took it down to the metal supplier to get a sheet of aluminum diamond plate sheared. I had previously decided to have it ride on top of the floor supports and made some mounting tabs and welded them in. I personally think it has a cleaner look being mounted on top as opposed to underneath the supports. The floor had to have a square cut out of the center to accommodate the permanent shifter box on the rail. Pictures to come soon of the floor installed in the rail.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:45 am    Post subject: Fully Painted and new ( used ) wheels Reply with quote

Been a little while since my last post, been busy with work and more classes. So the next part after getting the floor fitted up was to get the frame fully painted. The whole back half needed a few coats of paint, as it had already been primered to prevent more rust. So I went ahead removed the front beam and painted the front and back with a few coats ( I found that it came out surprisingly well). About a week after getting it painted and letting it fully dry I reinstalled the front beam and added some wheel adapters to go from the 5 x 205 to 4 x 130 bolt pattern. I picked up some chrome wheels and tires around the beginning of December just to roll the thing round with. They are 15 x 4.5 wheels so they look a little skinny on the rail. I want to put some wider ones on the back at least like 255 60 R16, don't know about the fronts yet. ( I'm open to suggestion for wheel and tire combinations) Anyway these will do for now just to push this thing around with. In the picture I will post the paint looks more orange than it really is, and the ugly tires that came with the rear end are still on.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:52 am    Post subject: Pictures of painted rail Reply with quote

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JRuger
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:17 am    Post subject: Steering Setup Reply with quote

The rail originally came with a piece of 3/4 inch stainless tubing welded directly to the steering shaft coming out of the steering box. A oversized steering shaft bearing was used to support it on the front of the cage. It was terrible. I wanted some way to remove the shaft quickly and be able for the shaft to pivot near the splined shaft that comes out of the box. When I removed the front beam to get it sandblasted, I had to cut the stainless tubing near the splined shaft. When it got reinstalled to move the rail around I realized it was time to get a usable steering system in place. I purchased a 3/4 smooth to 3/4 smooth U-Joint to use at the steering box and a heady duty 3/4 inch pillow block bearing to use as the shaft support on the frame. Holes were drilled in both parts of the U-joint and both pieces of the stainless steering shaft to attach it to both the shaft from the box and the long steering shaft. I chose to forgo welding the steel U-Joint to the stainless shaft ( even though we've got the capability to do so) because once the bolts were installed and tightened the shafted were tight. The only play in the steering was at the U-Joint cross itself. With that part done the next thing to do was weld the pillow block onto the frame. The long shaft was inserted into the bearing block and then both shafts were bolted to the U-Joint and tightened. Then the shaft with the pillow block sliding freely on it was lined up so it was straight in line with the short shaft coming from the steering box. Then the pillow block was slid into place and the frame was marked for reference. Then the paint was wire wheeled off and the shaft with the pillow block was moved back into place and welded on and painted. Below is a little diagram of the U-Joint system.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:05 am    Post subject: Re: Josh's Rusty Rail Rebuild Reply with quote

After the Rail was painted and the steering system was reengineered, the next thing to do was to add some mounts for the lights and diamond plate that the fuel tank and battery box will ride on. The mounts were made out of some 1/4 inch plate and will be used for the headlights, rear stop/turn/tail lights and front turn signals. Also a middle support made out of 1.25 inch OD pipe for the diamond plate was welded in, with an end cap made out of some 1/4 inch plate and smoothed over. The mounts were cut and drilled then the paint on the frame was buffed off. The mounts were welded in and then repainted.The transaxle and front beam were covered up during this to avoid the catching a stray spark and overspray from the paint. When the paint was dry, the lights were installed to make sure I was happy with their location. The seats were delivered around this time so stay tuned to see what the rail looks like with the seat set in place.
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:14 am    Post subject: Lights Reply with quote

Here is the Rail with the lights installed

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JRuger
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:32 am    Post subject: Fuel tank and battery mounting plate Reply with quote

The next project was getting the diamond plate that the battery box and fuel tank will be bolted to installed in the rail. I found the aluminum diamond plate in the cut-off pile at the local amish fabricating shop and had it sheared there. I wanted both the battery and fuel tank to get tucked out of the way between the seats and the roll cage vertical support.I don't really like having the battery up front and feel it's more protected in the center of the vehicle, plus it will be in a battery box. I'm knew to this and have read that these rear engine rails are known to understeer, but can not honestly see the how the weight of a small battery in the front can produce a noticeable difference in handling. I drilled and countersunk the holes to attach the plate to the mounts I previously welded in. I then bolted the plate down with some countersunk bolts. I decided to have the fuel tank on the passenger side and the battery directly behind the driver seat and ordered a 7 gallon tank round aluminum tank that would fit. When it arrived I marked out where the fuel tank straps will be bolted to the plate and drilled the holes. I had to drill a 7/8 hole for the outlet flange of the tank, because the outlet protrudes below the mounting straps. I waited to mount the battery box mostly because I hadn't made it yet Neutral
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Yes I know the filler neck is not in the right orientation, I just wanted to see how it looked installed
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JRuger
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:36 am    Post subject: Seats mock up Reply with quote

I put the seat in to see how they look in the rail and they look pretty good to me. Smile
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